WENGER CLINCHES DOUBLE DEAL
Scrooge myth busted after Arsenal splurge on Mustafi and Perez
FINALLY, the price was right for Arsene Wenger. From being accused of pennypinching to blowing more than £50million on two players in the space of a couple of hours, the Arsenal manager has gone from one extreme to the other.
As the Gunners manager enjoyed a Thursday night meal at a South American restaurant in north London, his negotiators were putting an end to the notion — at least for another 12 months — that Wenger is football’s version of Scrooge.
Lucas Perez was in London yesterday to have a medical and complete his £16.9m switch from Deportivo La Coruna. Central defender Shkodran Mustafi will finalise his £ 35m move from Valencia this weekend.
Add that to the £35m spent on midfielder Granit Xhaka, £2.5m on Rob Holding and £3.5m on Takuma Asano — it’s been close to a £100m summer at the Emirates. es.
Who says Wenger doesn’t esn’t like to spend? The asserertion that the Frenchmann is tight-fisted is a mod- ern-day football myth.
Wenger, despite the popular consensus, is happy to blow millions in the market. What he isn’t so comfortable with is the price.
Arsenal’s valuation of prospective signings is always put through a four-fourpoint acid test: the footballer’s current level of talent, his capacity to improve, his age and potential resale value are all assessed.
If Wenger, and the club’s board, are satisfied the player in question passes the four criteria then they’ll loosen the purse strings.
Mesut Ozil was a case in point. The German was 24 and already recognised as one of the world’s most creative attacking midfielders when he arrived at the Emirates. His age — added to the fact he had the capacity to improve — meant that even if the transfer wasn’t a success, Ozil was at an age where Arsenal would still be able to recoup much of the fee. The result: a club-record £42.5m deal.
There are further examples illustrating the club’s policy such as failed moves for Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Mario Gotze. Young, gifted players, full of potential.
Indeed, there are echoes of Arsenal’s valuation structure in their move for Mustafi; a Germany international, a proven performer in Italy and Spain and at 24 years old he has the capacity to improve and be sold on if necessary.
Mustafi ticks all the boxes. That is why he’s set to become the club’s second most expensive signing behind Ozil.
Wenger, though, has shown an interesting change in tact over the summer. The shock factor of the club’sclub’s failed move for Jamie VardVardy was amplified by the LeiLeicester striker’s age. With Vardy being 29, ddespite his proven PPremier League quality, the move for him represented a sea cchange for Wenger. He wasn’t buying ppotential but the finishished article. The likelihoohood of recouping even half oof the £20m fee was minimalminimal. Yet, Wenger still decided to go for it, making Vardy his No 1 target.
The same can be said of the move for Perez, who is 28 in two weeks.
‘He (Perez) is a late developer, he plays in different positions but he will be used as a striker,’ said Wenger yesterday.
‘I think he has good link up qualities, good finishing qualities.’
Last summer’s only signing Petr Cech arrived in north London at the age of 33. The shift in policy has been noted behind-the-scenes.
Is this the beginning of the end game for Wenger? Is he no longer planning for the future but for one last title tilt, particularly given his contract expires this season.
Time will tell. But, for now, he is happy to prove that, when the price fits, he’s happy to splash the cash.
‘You accuse me now of being a money splasher,’ Wenger joked yesterday. ‘Are they panic buys? Look at my face, is it the face of somebody who does a panic buy? No.
‘I try to make the decision. I always told you it’s not a question of numbers. It’s “Do you have the money to spend?”. That is the first. And after, do you make sure that you spend it well?
‘We live in a society where we always need new faces, hope for the future.’
Meanwhile, Wenger, whose team are at Watford today, has confirmed Calum Chambers will be allowed to leave on loan. Sportsmail revealed this week that the youngster had been given the green light to leave on a temporary basis, with Middlesbrough, Stoke, Hull and West Bromwich Albion all vying for his signature.